Category: Nokia

Google’s phone OS – Android which overtook Apple to become the second largest used phone OS in the world some time back has now overtaken even Nokia‘s Symbian to become the most used phone OS in the world. Canalys, a global market researcher that conducted the research has revealed that 32.9 million Android handsets were shipped in the last quarter of 2010 compared to Nokia’s 31 million. Apple had a shipment of only 16 million units leaving it third on the list and RIM Blackberry OS had shipments of 14.6 million units which puts it at the fourth place.

If we compare the figures, it is easily understood that Android’s popularity is increasing rapidly considering that the OS was launched only three years ago. But, all’s not gloom for Apple yet. With the Verizon iPhone 4 coming out soon, there is every chance that customers would want to lay their hands on iPhones rather than Verizon androids.

Ever since it was unveiled back in September last year, the Nokia E7 has impressed us. The device comes with a 4″ touchscreen ClearBack display, a full QWERTY keyboard, an 8-Megapixel camera with HD capture and 16GB mass memory. However, Espoo has failed to bring the device to the market on time. After initially announcing a Q4 launch, it was pushed to ‘early 2011‘. There were some speculations that the device could launch by January 10th, but that was not to be.

Despite these roadblocks, Nokia has finally managed to put the device up for launch- although it appears to be only in Finland for the moment. Starting now, Finland customers may place a pre-order for the Nokia E7 at the company website for a price of €599. The device is available at the moment in just two colors – Silver white and Dark gray – although alternate offerings in green, blue and orange are expected soon. All pre-ordered units are expected to be shipped by February.

If you have been enjoying the free music downloads on Nokia Ovi Music unlimited, here is some bad news. The Finland based company has decided to pull the plug on unlimited free music in as many as 27 countries. The Nokia Ovi Music Unlimited service was launched in 2008 in partnership with popular music labels like Vivendi, EMI, Warner Music Group and Sony, and was seen as a viable alternative to Apple’s iTunes.

While not much information has been revealed about the reason for discontinuation, the company has noted that lack of interest in music tied with DRM is one of the primary reasons. DRM-free tracks will continue to be sold in all 38 countries Nokia Ovi is available on.

There is however a silver lining here if you are from India, China, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey or South Africa. Nokia Ovi users in India, China and Indonesia will continue to enjoy 12 month free music subscription while those in Brazil, Turkey and South Africa will enjoy six months’ subscription.

If you are a user in one of the countries where the service has been plugged, do note that existing tracks will continue to be available. It is the newer tracks that you will be unable to download.

Nokia may no longer be the most preferred destination for high-end phones. The company’s decision to stick with the Symbian platform despite its waning popularity in the US may not be doing Espoo any good as a recent report has found. According to sources, AT&T may have decided to cancel its planned launch of Nokia X7 – the first Symbian^3 phone on the carrier – in February this year.

There is no word on what the exact reason might be but speculations are rife that AT&T may be planning on focusing its resources on the popular platforms including iOS and Android for the time being.

Having said that, Nokia X7 has some exciting features as well. The phone is targeted at gamers and comes with a 4″ touchscreen, a 640×360 pixel resolution and an N8-like processing power. We will wait and see how Nokia plans to bring the phone to its customers in the United States.

We have been anticipating the launch of the Nokia E7 for quite a while now. There were speculations in September this year that the release could be happening only on January 10, 2011. This was despite announcements that the launch was scheduled for Q4 2010. Now that we are already into December, Nokia has finally confirmed that the launch has now been pushed back to 2011. A Nokia spokesperson has said,

“To ensure the best possible user experience on the E7 we have decided to begin shipping in early 2011”

Nokia E7, along with N8 is one of the most anticipated devices from Espoo. Like the N8, the E7 is expected to come with a ClearBlack Display, an 8 Megapixel camera, 16GB storage and 350 MB memory. It additionally has a slide-out keyboard.

So it looks like UK retailer Expansys – who posted the January 10 launch date in the first place might actually turn out to be right. There is no doubt however that this delayed launch could affect Nokia dearly given that the majority of shopping is expected to be wrapped up this holiday season. What do you think?

Vodafone users in the United Kingdom can now get hold of the latest smartphone from the Finnish technology giant. The new Nokia N8 will now be available on Vodafone UK at zero upfront cost. But that is along with a two year contract where you will pay £30 a month. There are also higher monthly plans for £35, £40 and £45 for the same contract period where you will get commensurately higher data limit and voice minutes. If you are looking at a smaller monthly expenditure, you should check out the £25 per month plan. This comes with 100 minutes of talktime, 500MB of data and 500 free texts. But to subscribe to this plan, you will have to pay a £99 upfront cost.

Vodafone enjoys exclusivity on the new Nokia N8 in UK at the moment. So if you want a slice of this Nokia fun, head over to the Vodafone store in your neighborhood or to the website here and make your purchase.

Nokia has teamed up with a number of retailers for this launch. Users looking to purchase an N8 shall be able to do so from any of the major carriers in the UK in addition to Tesco Mobile and Virgin Mobile. Retailers who will keep stock of the N8 will include Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U.

It is believed that the Nokia N8 will also hit the rest of Europe on October 22. There is no confirmation on that at the moment.

Apparently, Nokia has reportedly exceeded their window on both counts. According to information posted on the website of popular UK retailer Expansys, Nokia E7 is expected to launch only in January 10, 2011. Also, the price is much higher than the older estimate and is apparently available for pre-orders at a price of £584.99. That’s more like €687.

Of course, the final subsidized price – that you can get from the carriers – should be much lower. But if you are the kind who prefers to have unsubsidized SIM-free version of your phones, E7 is more expensive than what you thought. If you are still looking to make an order, go ahead and do so here.

Nokia EVP Anssi Vanjoki had stated earlier this week that adopting Android was a short-term solution to a long term problem. Well that does not technically imply that Nokia is planning to stick to Symbian and MeeGo alone to compete against the likes of iPhone and Android handsets. According to a report on the VentureBeat, Stephen Elop; the new CEO of Nokia has given the go-ahead for his team to explore Windows Phone 7 as a possible platform alternative for their handsets.

With Symbian enjoying continued patronage from Nokia, the arrival of Windows Phone 7 handsets could mean Nokia could be compromising on its MeeGo adoption. Of course, these are still speculations at the moment. However it is unlikely for Espoo to compromise on Symbian given the high popularity of the platform in Europe and Asia.

Nokia has showcased some pretty cool upcoming technology at the recently concluded Nokia World conference in London. One such technology that is yet to be available for public consumption is the “Plug and Touch” system that lets users transform any display into a touchscreen display.

Plug and Touch is basically an application that runs on Nokia N8 and it uses the 12-megapixel camera on the phone to detect users’ finger movements over the HDMI-connected display. Based on these finger movements, the application can let users pick selections and process the requests. Check out this video demo for a greater understanding.

Nokia believes that the technology can be made much more sophisticated in the future with the help of Wi-Fi streaming over DLNA that will make it easier for the system to be used without having the phone clamped into position. This definitely looks very interesting.